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Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 2

With increasing disposable income and expanding tourism, Asia Pacific has become the fastest-growing regional travel market. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, five of the world’s ten fastest growing tourism cities are in Asia, making it the hot spot for the travel marketers. Propelled by high penetration of mobile, the region has been witnessing double digit growth in online booking, making it a priority region for global OTAs. However, the market is still dominated by local and regional players, even as global OTAs make strategic investments to make inroads.

In our series on Online Travel Channels in APAC, we have looked into major players shaping the digital travel space. In the first article of the series, we have discussed the giants in the region – Agoda, Ctrip and Make My Trip and their secret sauce to success. In this second part, we will be focussing on local players who are dominating the online travel space in their respective regions.

Fliggy

Fliggy (formerly known as AliTrip) – the travel booking site from Alibaba, is an important player in the China focusing on the upmarket segment – particularly the travel aspiring millennials and international travellers. Of the 10 million daily active users on Fliggy, 80 percent are millennials with college degree living on tier-1 and tier-2 cities – giving the platform a unique exposure and reach. Alibaba has also positioned it as a “premium” travel booking site focusing on outbound travel. The site is designed as youthful, refined, geared toward long-haul, leisure, experiential, as well as luxury trips, rather than the usual to short-term or domestic business travel. From its partnership with Marriot group to getting Booking.com to launch a flagship store on its platform, Fliggy has been making a series of strategic partnerships to create a global brand. Leveraging Alibaba’s ecosystem, which is used by 699 million mobile monthly active users, the platform is positioning itself as a travel marketplace covering the 360 degree of travel to provide consumers with better travel products and service experience. This means a traveller with high purchasing power can plan and book their travel on Fliggy, buy additional items necessary for travel from Alibaba owned e-commerce site Taobao while using Alipay for transactions, ensuring a seamless user experience throughout.

Rakuten Travel

Japan’s online leisure/unmanaged business travel market is the second largest in Asia Pacific region. Founded in 2002, Rakuten Travel is one of Japan’s largest online hotel reservation website with over 3.7 million room nights booked per month. The channel receives 5.34 million unique visitors every month. The firm has access to more than 20,000 domestic and 15,000 international hotels and has a presence in South Korea and China. Rakuten Travel, which is the most popular OTA in Japan, is owned by Rakuten Group, which provides more than 70 e-commerce services beyond travel. The group, often compared with Amazon connects services within its ecosystem enabling users to access all services within the system by using a single login ID, and the same loyalty program for a seamless experience. The company has invested heavily into artificial intelligence and big data for understanding changing consumer behavior and effective personalization.

Traveloka

Traveloka, one of late entrants in the market and founded by three friends in Indonesia, is one of the biggest success stories in the online travel space in South Asia.  The channel which offers flights, hotels, trains, tours & activities, transfers and packages is present in Southeast Asia’s six primary markets — Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. With the introduction of PayLater, an online credit system without the need for a credit card, Traveloka is poised to make further inroads into the region where relatively low penetration of credit / debit card has remained a hindrance to online payment. The channel is also actively pushing into the lifestyle category and has recently rolled out a discovery platform featuring restaurant and wellness activities. The Traveloka mobile app has been downloaded more than 30 million times, making it the most popular travel booking app in the region. With Expedia’s investment into the channel making it the first billion-dollar start-up in Indonesia, the company has been adding more products and services including bundles to mobile applications to make it a one-stop-shop for customers to book and redeem travel themselves.

As hoteliers, are you ready to tap into the Asia Pacific market? Are you managing these channels well and keeping them automatically updated with rates and availability on a regular basis?

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

 

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The Week, That Was – July 2019 Week 2

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax awarded ‘Preferred Partner’ certification by HRS

Leading online travel technology expert eRevMax has been recognised as a Preferred Partner by HRS under its newly launched certification programme.

https://bit.ly/2LcerkL

RateTiger expands in Mauritius with Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels

Mauritian luxury hotel chain Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels have implemented RateTiger Connect by eRevMax for managing online distribution effectively across multiple OTAs and get reservations delivered directly into its PMS. The hotel group aims to scale their online business over the next few years with the help of seamless distribution technologies customised and integrated for the group by the hotel connectivity leader.

https://bit.ly/2YrkiW1

How metasearch became the most important marketing channel in travel

When, back in 2013, we started to see Trivago and TripAdvisor adverts offering the possibility of comparing hotel prices, nobody imaged the success they would achieve over the course of the years. This was especially so when Google jumped on the bandwagon with Google Hotel Ads. Today, nearly three-quarters of travelers are believed to use metasearch engines in their search process.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Metasearch-travel-marketing-channel-growing

CWT Research Reveals 71% of Business Travelers Embrace Innovation

Research by CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, shows that 71% of global business travelers embrace travel innovation. Travelers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are more likely to favor it, with 75% and 71% respectively. Europeans, on the other hand, are warier of the changes – 7% of them stating a reluctance to embrace travel innovation versus 5% of Asia Pacific and 3% of Americas travelers.

https://bit.ly/30yrfWi

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 1

Online travel booking is booming in Asia. With over US$386.4 billion in gross travel bookings, APAC has long been the largest regional travel market. Is your hotel connected to the right OTAs? In Part 1 of our Deep dive into the #APAC online booking space series, we cover the regional biggies Ctrip.com Agoda MakeMyTrip .

Connect with us to know more – https://lnkd.in/ed5ka3C

 How the hotel industry has adapted to GDPR

Because it was clear that the GDPR would apply to European hotels, European hoteliers are much further ahead in being compliant with the data privacy law. The U.S. hotel industry has been a mixed bag, with many companies conducting an analysis to determine whether they would need to comply with the GDPR.

http://hotelnewsnow.com/articles/297113/How-the-hotel-industry-has-adapted-to-GDPR

Expedia Partner Solutions gets an API upgrade

One major enhancement is the introduction of Value-Add-Promotions, through which travel partners can increase traveler loyalty. EPS’s travel partners can now reward travelers with additional benefits, from free show tickets to 10% off food and drink, with the introduction of Value-Add Promotions on more than 17,000 properties.

https://bit.ly/2LOjyXB

Is your hotel too reliant on third-parties?

Acquiring new types of guests can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. OTAs can help target new segments of travelers for you – but should hotels rely on those relationships?

Access the Video – https://bit.ly/2SbFiOz

Adobe: How travelers move from research to buy using digital channels in 2019

In fact, 80% of airline sales are made on a desktop, while 46% of research occurs via smartphone. Additionally, 74% of hotel rooms are booked on desktop, while 47% of research happens via smartphone.

https://cmo.cm/32jQTiZ

Chinese tourism in UK up by 133%

A new travel trends study by TripAdvisor reveals that travelers from China are on the rise, and show no sign of slowing when it comes to visiting the UK. The study examines the fastest growing inbound markets for the UK, based on traveler interest in UK destinations on the world’s largest travel site, as well as looking at the ratings given to hotels, restaurants, and attractions by travelers and guests.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/chinese-tourist-in-uk-up-by-133-tripadvisor/

How hotels can attract more summer tourists

With more sunshine, warmer weather, and opportunities for outdoor fun, a lot of hotels are gearing themselves up to welcome an influx of guests this summer. Of course, summer is also the season when competition between hoteliers really heats up. To help your hotel drive more bookings, here are our top tips to put the sizzle in your summer marketing campaigns.

https://bit.ly/2GaLscI

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

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Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 1

There are 4.3 billion active internet users in the world. Over half of them or 2.2 billion are from Asia. A growing middle and upper class with travel as a popular lifestyle choice, mobile penetration, emergence of low-cost-carriers and smartphone adaption has made the region the fastest growing online travel market across the world.

With over US$386.4 billion in gross travel bookings, APAC has long been the largest regional travel market with online booking expected to grow upward of 10% for the next couple of years. With 40% of the bookings coming from online, no wonder this is the hottest market for the online hospitality players. According to a recent study by Allied Market Research, Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are expected to grow higher over the next 5 – 6 years, even as direct travel suppliers, such as hotels, airlines and car rental companies are increasingly adding booking facilities on their website.

Consider this – according to IBEF, digital is expected to account for around 40%-50% of the total travel transactions in India by 2020 – for hotels, every third booking will be made online, predicts a report by Google BCG.  The market is presently dominated by MakeMyTrip-Goibibo – which accounts for 45% of all transactions, followed local players like Cleartrip, Yatra and global majors like Booking.com and Agoda. In China, Ctrip and Qunar combined control 53.6% of the total online travel market, followed by Fliggy with a share of 14.7%. The top three altogether took 68.3% shares of the online travel market.

Clearly online travel agencies are playing the dominant role in this unfolding story. In this multi-part series, we take a deep dive into OTAs in the region who are playing vital role in shaping the digital travel.

Ctrip

Over 180 million Chinese travellers are expected to take an international trip this year, and most of them are likely to book through Ctrip – the largest OTA in the country, and a global player in its own right. According to PhoCusWright, Ctrip is almost at par with Expedia and Booking.com in terms of gross bookings, and controls over half of online travel market in China. In a country with 100% mobile penetration, and 772 million mobile internet users, Ctrip’s app with rich content and location-based information has led the mobile booking revolution – 80% of its transactions are from the mobile platforms. The channel has over 300 million subscribers, lists 700,000 overseas hotels and as many within China. With its acquisition of budget OTA Qunar, Skyscanner, Trip.com and stake in Elong and India’s MakeMyTrip, Ctrip has emerged as the dominant player in Asia Pacific.

Agoda

Agoda, which has been one of the most popular online travel agencies in the region, started with discounted leisure hotel bookings across Asia, and continues to be a hotel-focused OTA. Headquartered in Singapore, and operating largely from Bangkok, the channel, owned by Booking Holdings, lists out 1.8 million properties including vacation-rentals and BnBs. With 22 million reviews from customers who have stayed at properties, Agoda is way ahead of its competitors on user-generated reviews, which can only be matched with Google or TripAdvisor.  In sync with the mobile-savvy APAC population, the channel has invested heavily into mobile app which currently accounts for half of all bookings made on the channel. The channel also shares its inventory with sister companies like Booking.com and Priceline to expand its global reach. However, unlike its parent brand, Agoda primarily relies on the merchant or wholesale model – where the property sets the net rate with OTA adjusting the markup.

Make My Trip

The earliest entrant to Indian online travel market, Make My Trip has been a dominant player since its inception. The recent acquisition of Ibibo Group’s travel business has made it the largest player in online air ticketing and hotel booking business. Leveraging big data and machine learning, the company has recently introduced an artificial intelligence-based chatbot Gia, which is serving up to 5,000 unique users post sales query daily. Last year, the company introduced Goibibo Express, a conversation-based app targeted at the entry level internet user which accounts for close to 100 million. The app available in both Hindi and English, allows users to book hotels, trains and buses. The Make My Trip loyalty programme, which has close to 800,000 subscribers is also driving repeat bookings.

As hoteliers, are you ready to tap into the Asia Pacific market? Are you managing these channels well and keeping them updated with rates and availability on a regular basis?

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

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7 Steps to Increase Repeat Business for Your Hotels by 200%

Having loyal customers is one of the most essential steps to ensure the success of hotels. Today, travelers can choose from many options in the hotel industry – leading to intense competition between hotel owners. Thus, as a hotel property owner, you have to try various strategies to transform new visitors into repeat customers and keep your present guest list intact as well.

Strive to make the best ‘first impressions’

With a great first impression, you can make a wonderful lasting impression. When you have a new customer coming into your property, you have to try various ways to transform them into loyalty card members. Offer a valuable loyalty program, which can be useful to guests who come in. Track the requirements and preferences of guests, have a smooth check-in process and strive to communicate well online and offer impeccable services.

Exploit Technology

Use mobile apps, keyless entries, online confirmation, self check-in and other technologies to make the booking process smoother. Avoid keeping customers waiting.

Lend a personal touch

The modern age is all about personalization, and you should try to store guest record in your hotel management software in order to provide present and new guests with a personalized service. You can find unique ways to encourage customers to book your property for the following visits.

Offer Hotel Loyalty Programs of value

In customer loyalty programs, hotel loyalty cards play a vital role. When you manage to be successful in registering new customers into your loyalty programs, it should act as a strong foundation for your business in making guests your long-term customers.

Get immediate feedback

Negative reviews arise due to the fact that guests do not always find ways to express their dissatisfaction with your services. You can avoid negative reviews for your business by seeking constant feedback from customers. Hand out a small questionnaire or send SMS etc to know whether the guests are satisfied with the room service, if they want a custom menu etc. When you ask the right questions, you can get the right answers and improve your services to enjoy repeat business.

Give Incentives

Move over complimentary breakfast, and offer complimentary trip to attractions nearby. Have the option for flexible timings for check-in, and provide new visitors with direct bookings.

Make guests your first priority

Start even before they check in, and connect with them through every stage of their association with your hotel. Address all their needs personally, and find out whether they need any special assistance.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

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The Week, That Was – June 2019 Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Swedish hotel recommends RateTiger for online distribution

Karstorp Hotel, a Swedish midscale property has recommended RateTiger for effective channel management and online distribution. The hotel has been using RateTiger Channel Manager and Shopper for a couple of years now and has experienced improved occupancy and revenue by streamlining its distribution.

https://bit.ly/2WYhiz2

10 Tips for Hotels to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have limited staff but various functions to manage. You may be looking to improve the operational productivity to boost your hotel revenue, but don’t know how. Here are 10 tips that can help you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

https://www.erevmax.com/blog/index.php/2019/06/10-tips-for-hotels-to-improve-operational-productivity-by-60/

RoomIt by CWT: Key differences in business traveler hotel preferences by country

According to research commissioned by RoomIt by CWT, business travelers want different hotel experiences based on the country they are from.

The results revealed that globally, having access to Wi-Fi (84%), room rate (81%), distance from business site (81%) and breakfast (79%) are the most important influences.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4093995.html

Expedia connects travelers with hotels when their flights are delayed

Expedia Group is actively working on repurposing its Expedia Partner Central Conversations tools to enable Expedia and guests, with permission, to communicate directly with hotels if flights are delayed or plans otherwise change.

https://skift.com/2019/06/27/expedia-to-connect-travelers-with-hotels-when-their-flights-are-delayed/

Solving the hotel tech puzzle: The importance of smart integrations

But with so many different pieces of a puzzle, it can be hard to make sure that they all perfectly fit together and you have a clear overview of the bigger picture. This is why smart integrations are crucial; because while any scalable software is useful on its own, its capabilities are boosted when connected to another corresponding technology.

https://www.trustyou.com/blog/technology/solving-the-hotel-tech-puzzle

Why Google ratings might just be your hotel’s most important quality metric

Google has revamped its review product, increased review volume exponentially, and made Google ratings more prominent in search, maps and hotel listings.

https://reknown.com/2019/06/why-google-ratings-might-just-be-your-hotels-most-important-quality-metric/

The new era of hospitality tech

Would you rather partner with a SaaS provider which is kicking ass as the best PMS, or a PMS provider the provides a fruit-basket of solutions?

https://blog.apaleo.com/hotels/new-era-hospitality-tech

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

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Swedish hotel recommends RateTiger for online distribution

Karstorp Hotel, a Swedish midscale property has recommended RateTiger for effective channel management and online distribution. The hotel has been using RateTiger Channel Manager and Shopper for a couple of years now and has experienced improved occupancy and revenue by streamlining its distribution.

Located in Skovde, Karstorp Hotel is a 32-room property. MiWell Nordic, a Scandinavia based hospitality management firm is helping the hotel with advanced analytics driven Revenue Management for improving efficiency. Through Miwell Nordic, the hotel is leveraging eRevMax’s seamless connectivity with global and regional OTAs, and niche channels to publish room rate and availability in real time and receive reservations directly into its PMS. Hosted on LiveOS, RateTiger’s pool inventory model allows the revenue management team to continuously distribute live rates and inventory to multiple booking channels and deliver updates back into its property management system (PMS) in real-time, without worrying about overbooking. The in-built booking trends and business analytics data combined with competitor benchmarking reports give them key market insights to make informed decision.

“With RateTiger, we only need to make updates on one platform instead of multiple OTAs. The channels get automatically populated immediately once we submit the data from our end. Similarly, all bookings generated on the different sales channels are entered in our PMS automatically. RateTiger is easy to use and their support team is very helpful, you always get a quick response on any query,” said Elin Svensson, Revenue Activator, MiWell Nordic.

“MiWell has been our long-standing partner trusting RateTiger to manage online sales for its client hotels. This recommendation is a testimony to our commitment to make online distribution management easy for hoteliers. We have invested in building stable connectivity with over 400 OTAs and technology providers. Our solutions simplify operations, improve efficiencies and give hoteliers time to focus on strategy,” said Alin Lazar, Regional Sales Director – EMEA, eRevMax.

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10 Tips for Hotels to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for hotel owners looking to improve business ROI. Check out the top 10 tips to see how you can increase your property’s operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have limited staff but various functions to manage. You may be looking to improve the operational productivity to boost your hotel revenue, but don’t know how. Here are 10 tips that can help you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Invest in technology

Adopt useful hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System), rate shopping and channel management tools, which can help streamline online distribution and reservation management process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staff to its overall performance

You must show to your staff that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenue of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they get motivated to perform even better.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-to-staff and staff-to-management communication, for better team cohesion.

Use Accounts Payable (AP) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives are natural motivators for employees in any organization, and it inspires them to work hard and earn it.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anywhere, anytime. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader report into the General Manager who in turn gets a bird’s eye view into the entire operations and can thus provide insightful inputs for the hotel owner.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

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12 Tips for Hotel to Improve Operational Productivity by 60%

Here’s a quick guide for the hotel owners looking forward for better ROI to run through this better and get to know the top 12 tips for operational efficiency by 60%.

It can be quite an ordeal to run hotels, especially small hotel businesses which have small number of staffs but many functions to manage. You have to improve the operational productivity of your hotel if you are serious about boosting your revenues. Here are 12 tips that can let you boost the productivity of your hotel operations by as much as 60%.

Improve your technologies

Adopt latest hotel management software systems, such as PMS (Property Management System) and channel manager, which can help streamline the check-out and check-in process for you. These can save time by automating various daily operations.

Track your customer service performance

Try to evaluate how fast you can address the issues and requests of your guests. With a good customer service, you can resolve issues efficiently and quickly.

Associate the actions of your hotel staffs to its overall performance

You have to show to your staffs that all that they do each day has a big impact on the efficiency, productivity and revenues of the hotel. When the workers feel important, they can improve their service.

Encourage communication

Establish an email message group, set an open-door policy and hold regular meetings to promote staff-staff and staff-management communication, and boost communication.

Use AP (Accounts Payable) automation

It takes a lot of time to process invoices, and you can save this by automating your AP (accounts payable) processes. It can offer the best ROI for hotels of any size.

Offer incentives

Incentives can be natural motivators for your hotel staffs, and inspire them to work better and perform every task better.

Move to a cloud-based system

Shift to SaaS based system which allows you to manage your solutions from anytime, anywhere. The increase in mobility will help you manage operations efficiently, serve guests better and boost your overall productivity. Back-office operations can be handled more efficiently.

Go paperless

You can obviously improve productivity by reducing the number of hours you go through your papers. Go paperless, and digitize every document in a computer and storing them on the Cloud.

Reduce the work load

Find out which tasks take the longest to be completed, and outsource the same. If possible, you might even consider eliminating them completely.

Use a Hotel Management System

It can let you enter invoices, track customer data, handle bookings and more with ease.

Get insightful reports

Create a hierarchical structure, where every team leader can report to you.

Automate operations

Whether it comes to managing bookings and housekeeping or handling guest reviews, automation can make things much easier.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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The Week, That Was – June 2019 Week 3

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

Agoda Opportunities debuts on LiveOS

The #1 hospitality operating system LiveOS has introduced Agoda Opportunities on its platform. Hotels using LiveOS platform to manage their online distribution can now access this special service from Agoda to amplify visibility on Agoda, the fastest growing global OTA.

https://bit.ly/2x9hi4Q

Expedia launches #ExpediaChat to encourage social media dialogue

Using the hashtag #ExpediaChat, the company has been encouraging users to start thinking about what tips and lessons they have learnt while taking images of the different countries, cities and towns they have travelled to.

https://justnje.com/expedia-launches-expediachat-to-encourage-social-media-dialogue/

Accor and Air France-KLM expand ties with joint loyalty program

Europe’s largest hotel group Accor and airline Air France-KLM are broadening their loyalty program by offering a dual reward scheme to their entire global customer base.

https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/20/accor-and-air-france-klm-expand-ties-with-joint-loyalty-programme

Is your hotel embracing the age of the ecosystem?

Data used to be part of a database. Now data is part of an ecosystem. Guest data comes into a hotel’s ecosystem from multiple channels and devices. The volume, variety and velocity of this information feeds the ecosystem and gives hotels a deeper understanding of their overall business.

https://www.sabrehospitality.com/blog/how-confident-are-you-really-in-your-guest-acquisition-strategy/

AI-based travel app Hopper expands price monitoring to hotels worldwide

Hopper, the handy travel app that uses AI to predict airfare pricing, is today expanding its service to include hotels. Like airfare, hotel pricing is also dynamic — it can fluctuate with traveler demand. During busy times, prices are higher. And when a hotel has rooms to fill, the prices drop. Now, Hopper is bringing its same prediction technology to more than 270,000 hotels in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/20/a-i-based-travel-app-hopper-expands-price-monitoring-to-hotels-worldwide/

 How confident are you (really) in your guest acquisition strategy?

From market disruptions to changing shopping habits and the impact of new technology, hoteliers are contending with dynamic forces that are changing how guests make decisions.

https://www.sabrehospitality.com/blog/how-confident-are-you-really-in-your-guest-acquisition-strategy/

Lessons the hotel industry can learn from Airbnb, Expedia & Google

From meaningful brand architecture to brand expansion strategies, a look at key lessons traditional hospitality players can learn from the digital giants. As Airbnb continues to grow and redefine the hospitality ecosystem, it sounds only right that traditional hospitality groups should embrace Airbnb’s motto, with a twist: “Hospitality for Everyone, Everywhere and for Every Occasion”.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4093894.html

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

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Agoda Opportunities debuts on LiveOS

The #1 hospitality operating system LiveOS has introduced Agoda Opportunities on its platform. Hotels using LiveOS platform to manage their online distribution can now access this special service from Agoda to amplify visibility on Agoda, the fastest growing global OTA.

Through Agoda Opportunities, hotels can access Agoda Sponsored Listing, a service designed to connect hotels with a highly engaged travel audience through paid listings. The sponsored listing appears in premium placement alongside search results – increasing exposure, building brand awareness and maximizing opportunities to convert lookers into bookers.

Another service is Agoda Private Sale (APS), a feature promoting properties and insider deals and offers to Agoda’s registered VIP members. With the new features available exclusively on LiveOS, user hotels can now view and take part on this select closed user group incremental sales program directly from their LiveOS dashboard.

“We are pleased to reinforce our integration with eRevMax by optimizing production opportunities within LiveOS, to strengthen property profiles among Agoda’s customer bases and drive increase in revenue. We are constantly striving to provide more value and innovation to the benefit of our mutual accommodation partners and the launch of Agoda Opportunities allows us to do so. We are excited to continue exploring new approaches that are made possible by the quality of eRevMax’s software,” said Lucas Johnson, Associate Director Connectivity & Partnerships, Agoda.

“We continuously strive to bring relevant enhancements and features to make our customers experience wonderful. LiveOS users can now view and activate various incremental sales and marketing opportunities available on Agoda directly from their dashboard,” said Ankur Gupta, Sales Director, LiveOS.

LiveOS is an operating system that simplifies the use of technology for the hospitality industry. It centralizes the core functions of multiple applications in a single sign-on platform offering accommodation providers the much-needed simplicity in daily operations. Over 9000 hotels today use the LiveOS platform to manage multiple pre-integrated technology solutions including PMS, CRS, OTAs, Metasearch sites, Channel Manager, Reputation Management and other services.